Item number: X24

Year: circa 475 – 221 BC

Material: Bronze

The results after XRF testing

Size: 188.0 x 188.0 x 3.3 mm

Weight: 537.75 g

Provenance:

1. Robert Ricketts 2025

2. The Lowenson Collection

This is a bronze mirror dating from the Warring States period.

The reflective surface of the mirror is plain and unadorned. At the centre of the reverse side is a semi-annular knob resting upon a square base defined by wide, flat borders. The four corners of this base are decorated with flame or floral-foliate motifs. Arranged along the four sides are two types of symmetrically interlaced mythical creature motifs, closely resembling dragons and phoenixes. The background features a repeated lozenge grid filled with cloud-scroll patterns, otherwise known as cloud-and-thunder motifs, whilst the remaining negative space is interspersed with raised bosses.

The utilization of mirrors in China can be traced back to the Qijia culture in the Gansu region, circa 2400 to 1600 BC. In historical texts, the earliest documentation appears in the records of the twenty-first year of Duke Zhuang of Lu (673 BC), which states: ‘When the Earl of Zheng entertained the King, the King bestowed upon him the Queen’s sash-mirror.’ Commentators interpret this banjian (sash-mirror) as a mirror attached to a girdle or belt, meant for personal adornment and wear.

Bronze mirrors from the Warring States period are highly diverse in type and complex in form. Categorized by their knobs, arched and semi-annular knobs primarily emerged during the early Warring States period, openwork knobs appeared in the mid-to-late period, whilst corded knobs were the most prevalent. When considering the combinations of primary motifs and background patterns, the variations in typology can number in the hundreds. Structurally, the layouts can be classified into double-concentric, symmetrical, and circumferential types. The double-concentric layout employs rings to separate the inner and outer designs; the symmetrical layout divides the primary motifs into two or four mutually balancing segments; and the circumferential layout arranges the primary designs in a rotational sequence. According to archaeological excavation data, the State of Chu during this period was likely a pre-eminent centre for the casting of bronze mirrors.

物件編號: X24

年代: 約公元前 475 – 221 年

材料: 青銅

XRF分析結果

尺寸: 188.0 x 188.0 x 3.3 mm

重量: 537.75 g

來源:

1. 羅伯特·里基茨 2025

2. 洛文森舊藏

這是一面青銅鏡，來自戰國時期。

鏡面光素。鏡背中央為半環鈕，下承方形鈕座，以寬平的邊圍成，紐座四角有焰紋或花葉紋。四邊則是對稱交錯的兩種神獸紋，形近龍鳳。地章則是重複的菱格紋，菱格內填充雲渦紋，又稱為雷雲紋。其餘空白填有凸點。

中國對於鏡的使用最早可以追溯到公元前2400至1600年左右甘肅地區的齊家文化，史籍的紀載則可以追溯到魯莊公二十一年(公元前673年)，其時「鄭伯之享王也，王以后之鞶鑒予之」，有注家釋義，鞶鑒為繫帶之鏡，以隨身佩帶。

戰國時期的銅鏡種類多，型態複雜。以鈕區分，弓形鈕和半環鈕主要出現在戰國早期，鏤空鈕出現在戰國中晚期，弦紋鈕則最為普遍。計上主紋地紋的搭配，形制可至數百種。布局則可分為雙圈式、對稱式、環繞式。雙圈式以環分隔環內與環外的圖樣；對稱式將主圖分為兩部分或四部分，兩兩隊秤；環繞式則將主圖環繞排列。據考古出土紀錄，此時期的楚國可能是銅鏡重要的鑄造中心。